wb1969

I beg to differ. Many posters on FT, including myself, have had reason to complain to BA in the past, and judging by the comments made in this forum, the outcome is usually unsatisfactory. If BA cared, and responded in a dignified manner rather than a copy and paste, and paid out suitable compensation, there would be no need to take it further to a higher authority.

sadly the OP has been brushed off with the usual garbage so I feel strongly that this really should be escalated further. Don't waste time emailing Alex Cruz. He won't reply. Go straight to the CAA who is responsible for safety matters and granting licences to airlines to operate.

If BA aren't held to account, what will be next? No seat at all and passengers expected to stand for their journey?

if it had been me, and the flight was full, I would not hesitate to insist on being offloaded and booked on to a later flight.

FlyerTalker39574

My guess is a serious spill or vomit on the previous sector and it was removed for cleaning and a spare could not be located or was not on board.

Prospero

I was pondering over this too. I would have thought that had the seat cushion been removed by engineering it would have been logged, with the seat placed out of service until its repair had been logged. Passengers allocated seats logged as out of service are usually notified in advance, either at check-in or at the gate.

Crampedin13A

If they didn't have a spare cushion at LHR I wonder what happened on the return flight from LAX?

navylad

OP said the fabric was still in place, so this doesn't sound likely

duchy

Understanding that the OP is not the type to want a fuss I'm wondering at what point she told the crew about the seat - eg before or after door closure or take off or later.

Frankly the OP's pasivity astounds me- and her husband's too. I wouldn't stand for my partner travelling in such discomfort, it's part of my job as the more experienced traveller to make sure they don't get less than they have paid for.

Pity you didn't take any photos, evidence aside , just the very act of taking photos in the sight of the crew may have led to instant resolution.

V10

Worst case, the fault was not logged and it remained in service. On a full return flight, another passenger experienced the same issue. This would likely represent a serious transgression by BA in which it knowingly kept a defective seat in service after a flight in which it was already known to be so.

Or, they didn't log it but they lucked out and the original occupant was able to move to another unoccupied seat. BA largely off the hook.

Alternatively, the fault was logged by crew on the OP's flight after all, and was taken out of service for the return flight. This being the case, BA's customer relations response to the OP is really quite badly at fault.

Fourthly, they did in fact have a spare at LAX and were able to repair the problem there. This raises the question as to why it could be repaired at an outstation, but not at BA's home base.

Any which way, BA doesn't come out of it that well.

Prospero

i vaguely recall CIHY mentioning in the past there are spare cushions stored onboard but maybe I'm wrong.

madfish

Post 1 would imply that this was done at time of boarding.

Also, I think the OP has explained clearly throughout the thread the reasons for their actions so don't need to be judged on these. Many of us would have acted differently especially in hindsight.

subject2load

Early entry for the 2017 FT Understatement of the Year Award ....?

Can I help you

No there are spare covers only, it sounds like the cushion could have been damaged and engineering hadn't replaced it before departure or it was somewhere else on the aircraft.

Prospero

Thanks. I’m still wondering why AirNurse didn’t get a beep at the boarding podium

V10

Hyperbole is rather frowned upon this board. In this spirit, it's quite clear that confronted with a slight seating snag, the crew employed a bit of good old British mend-and-make-do, and stiff upper lips were maintained all round.

Hip hip, hooray.

TravellerFrequently

A simply shocking story from start to middle - not at the finish yet.

I hope the OP receives some suitable satisfaction.

SvenAge

I don't know which is worse, the guy the other day with his feet soaked in urine and BA's useless response or BA expecting customers to sit on metal for 11+ hours.. it really does show the "don't care" response of BA for what it is, sadly. And to think I'm unhappy that they no longer provide drinks (unless it's coffee or tea) and feel wronged by being abruptly spoken to. Looks like I'm for the most part getting lucky. Sorry to hear about another poor BA experience. I wish BA would take notice of it's customers. Where is the pride? So poor.